Train derails in southern India, killing 2 people

NEW DELHI (AP) — Nine coaches of a train derailed in southern India before dawn Saturday, killing at least two people and leaving several injured, officials said.

Police and rescuers helped pull out scores of passengers from the coaches that fell on their side near Gulbarga in Karnataka state after the train derailed at about 2:15 a.m., Indian Railway spokesman Anil Saksena said.

The injured were taken to hospitals in Gulbarga, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of India's technology hub of Bangalore.

The cause of the derailment was not immediately known.

Railway accidents are common in India and have mostly been blamed on human error and old equipment.

Last month, two passenger trains derailed over a bridge in central India while crossing a track that was flooded by heavy monsoon rains, killing at least 24 people.